discard

verb

dis·card | \ dis-ˈkärd,

ˈdis-ˌ\

discarded; discarding; discards

Definition of discard

(Entry 1 of 2)

transitive verb

1 : to get rid of especially as useless or unwanted a pile of discarded tires They quickly discarded the idea.

2a : to remove (a playing card) from one's hand (see hand entry 1 sense 9a(2)) discarded an ace

b : to play (any card except a trump) from a suit different from the one led

intransitive verb

: to discard a playing card discard at the end of your turn

discard

noun

dis·card | \ ˈdis-ˌkärd

Definition of discard (Entry 2 of 2)

1a : the act of removing a playing card from one's hand : the act of discarding (see discard entry 1 sense 2a)

b : a card discarded collected the discards

2 : one that is cast off or rejected

Other Words from discard Synonyms Choose the Right Synonym More Example Sentences Learn More about discard

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Choose the Right Synonym for discard

Verb

discard, cast, shed, slough, scrap, junk mean to get rid of. discard implies the letting go or throwing away of something that has become useless or superfluous though often not intrinsically valueless. discard old clothes cast, especially when used with off, away, or out, implies a forceful rejection or repudiation. cast off her friends shed and slough imply a throwing off of something both useless and encumbering and often suggest a consequent renewal of vitality or luster. shed a bad habit finally sloughed off the depression scrap and junk imply throwing away or breaking up as worthless in existent form. scrap all the old ways would junk our educational system

Examples of discard in a Sentence

Verb

Remove and discard the stems. a pile of discarded tires She discarded the six of hearts.

Noun

toss all of your discards in the garbage

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

It's been around long enough that many armies who've used the firearm have now discarded it. — Kyle Mizokami, Popular Mechanics, "The Army's Recoilless Rifle Is Getting a Huge Upgrade: Laser-Guided Warheads," 10 Oct. 2018 Cut the hard nub end off the garlic clove, and smash it with the flat side of your knife; the skin should come right off (discard it). — Bethany Jean Clement, The Seattle Times, "The perfection of pesto: a public service announcement," 18 July 2018 Prevent Seed Distribution Bag any plants or clippings and immediately discard them (don’t throw them in the compost pile or use as mulch!) in the landfill. — Jean Nick, Good Housekeeping, "How to Get Rid of Crabgrass Once and for All," 25 June 2018 Under the proposal, residents would still bring their trash and recycling to the curb, but instead of having rubbish in black or white bags, they’d be required to discard trash in brightly colored trash bags purchased at a local store. — Mikaela Porter, Courant Community, "West Hartford Residents React: A Lot Of Trash Talk About New Garbage Proposal," 19 June 2018 The lipstick tube and matchbook, jumbled with a pair of sunglasses and a ring, seem discarded by an appearance-conscious giantess. — Morgan Sykes, The Cut, "A Celebrated Pop Artist’s Gigantic Still Lifes," 18 Feb. 2018 This first episode does a solid job of mining a new scene for humor, then discarding it and moving on instead of beating a joke to death. — Sam Machkovech, Ars Technica, "Disenchantment review: Groening’s new Netflix toon is off to a bloody good start," 7 Aug. 2018 Cooked on high for 2 hours, then discarded the onions and sliced the meat. — Kim Walker, Woman's Day, "Slow-Cooker Monday: Gyros," 30 Jan. 2012 European officials privately said the possibility of fresh talks hasn’t been discarded, and some believe the negotiation period could be extended beyond March. — Laurence Norman, WSJ, "U.K., EU Approve Hard-Fought Brexit Divorce Deal. Now the Harder Work Begins.," 25 Nov. 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

That’s when Rachel throws out the eight of bamboo as a discard — folding her winning hand, knowing that Eleanor will pick it up and declare victory. — Jeff Yang, Vox, "The symbolism of Crazy Rich Asians’ pivotal mahjong scene, explained," 20 Aug. 2018 Victories have been rare for the Boars, who are usually defeated in regional tournaments, where their squad of onetime discards take on teams for whom soccer is part of the school curriculum. — Matt Blomberg, latimes.com, "There's a reason that the soccer team rescued from a cave in Thailand was so tough and resilient," 11 July 2018 Salsa and tamales past discard date found in walk-in refrigerator. — Robert Gundran, azcentral, "Restaurant with no sneeze guard on salsa bar among this week's violations," 11 July 2018 Amazingly, the latter two were late pickups off the discard pile, Murphy last year, Macoun this year. — Detroit Free Press, "Detroit Red Wings flashback: Mitch Albom on 1998 Stanley Cup victory," 16 June 2018 Matt Albers: White Sox discard making a name for himself with Brewers, stranding 94.1 percent of runners with 0.88 WHIP. — Paul Sullivan, chicagotribune.com, "Astros GM Jeff Luhnow never hides from his own tweets," 1 June 2018 Cooked pork with discard date of April 28 in the refrigerator. — Ryan Santistevan, azcentral, "Mesa eatery left 3-day-old food on deli slicer, among other violations," 16 May 2018 Lines of vehicles waited for their chance to offload piles of brush, old furniture, and other discards. — Janice Steinhagen, Courant Community, "Crews Clean Up Streets, Parks For Earth Day," 2 May 2018 Emily Sudd, for example, conducts acts of domestic archaeology by filling vessels with ceramic discards, firing them, then slicing them in half to reveal their innards in cross-section. — Leah Ollman, latimes.com, "Ceramic art, once written off as mere craft, wins a brighter spotlight in the L.A. scene," 25 Apr. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'discard.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.